For half a century Julian Barbour (b. 1937) has been removing what he believes to be unnecessary terms from the physics toolbox, creating a cosmological theory he named Shape Dynamics. One of those spare elements is time, which, according to the physicist, is an illusion. In recent years he has been working on the Janus Point theory, explaining where our sense of the passage of time and its direction comes from.

I met Julian at his home, College Farm, in the tiny village of South Newington near Oxford, England. The trailer of the outcome can be viewed here.

This is something you already might be aware of. Today I’d like to present a series of short videos we shot more recently, in July 2017. Julian’s intention is to turn his family house into an independent science venue. We had fun filming those little bits in July 2017. I’ve just finished editing process.

The short movies, highlighting key concepts of his shape dynamics and Janus point theories, are supposed to attract the attention of future collaborators and, perhaps, open minded philanthropists interested in scientific endeavors.

Music was composed by Jacek Mazurkiewicz, a fantastic artist, also the man behind the “score” of Artur Ekert: A Model Kit and Roy Glauber: The Bomb That Shook the World.

Logo by Piotr Piotrowski, piotrpiotr.pl

Beautiful College Farm logo was designed by Piotr Piotrowski, an equally talented visual artist – and also a friend.

Julian Barbour, one and only independent physicist, cosmologist, and Shakespeare connoisseur based in Oxfordshire, whom you might know as the protagonist of Bottom’s Dream, the third installment of the Pioneers series, continues his work on Shape Dynamics theory – “a new theory of gravity that is based on fewer and more fundamental first principles than General Relativity”. Sounds promising, doesn’t it?

We spent three hot summer days in South Newington, documenting the progress, and filming short “ads” that we’ll present soon – inviting you, and friends of yours, to join Julian and his collaborators in their unique research.

Photo: Karol Jalochowski

Photo: Karol Jalochowski

The College Farm, the old farmer’s house Julian has been based in for half a century, is – hopefully – going to become an informal and independent research institution, a workshop center for cosmologists and quantum physicists puzzled by the paradoxes of contemporary Big Bang theories.

Here’s a hint how to proceed – below.

Photo: Karol Jalochowski

Stay tuned! And just in case you didn’t know about Bottom’s Dream – have a look at its trailer.

This is a personal website of Karol Jalochowski, a science journalist, reporter, and documentary film maker of POLITYKA weekly (supported by CQT/NUS).